PAUL JAMES PHILLIPS
PAUL JAMES PHILLIPS
Paul
James Phillips was born in Brunswick, Georgia and became a resident of
Jacksonville, Florida around the age of 12. Paul had continued to live
in Jacksonville up until the time he moved to Los Angeles, California
in 2000 to become a member the new rock band Puddle of Mudd. He has
since been coast to coast and around the world, more than a few times
over and with the continued success of his new band, Operator, another
global trip should hopefully be in his future as he pursues the rock
and roll dream.
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Paul
had become interested in playing guitar at the age of 10. He found
traditional lessons of beginner notes and chords did not have him
playing the rock and roll he wanted as quick as he would have liked
and he soon gave them up. By age 15, a friend who had gotten an
electric guitar sparked his interest again. Armed with some power
chords he was taught, he was soon playing the music he wanted to hear.
It was about that age, he became very serious about playing guitar and
he realized music is what he wanted to do for a career –
"I
bought a Motley Crue Video. That pretty much did it for me. Those guys
were living the life. I was like, there's something to this." –
MTV
While
Paul played with several local bands, the most successful was with a
band called Happy Hour out of Jacksonville. They went as far as
winning a local Battle of the Bands contest. He earned valuable stage
experience with Happy Hour by playing area clubs and private parties.
The band was short lived, but when one door closes another one opens.
What
may seem as a stroke of luck by knowing Fred Durst from his
Jacksonville days, it was not a case of "who you know" that
guaranteed him a spot in the band as many assume. Paul, who had
decided to go to college, was one semester away from receiving a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management and Marketing from University of
North Florida (Jacksonville). Ready to take a chance, he left college.
He took that step off the cliff when he got that call from
Fred. Some people are
critical of the circumstances of how Paul joined Puddle of Mudd and
while it may have been the initial call from Fred that was the foot in
the door, there is no doubt that Paul’s talent is what landed him
the spot in the band.
He
was soon on his way to LA to become part of a project Fred had taken
on under his new record label, Flawless Records. Fred was developing a
new talent he found from Kansas City, Missouri Wesley Scantlin. Doug
Ardito, a bassist originally from Bedford, Massachusetts was interning
at Interscope Records and was already on board with the project. Fred
may have been a foot in the door for Paul, but it was Paul's talent
that secured his place with Puddle of Mudd. Paul's guitar style speaks
volumes when heard live and he filled a niche the band needed. Come
Clean was recorded with Josh Freese, a temporary drummer. Greg
Upchurch, a drummer from Kingston, Oklahoma, later filled the last
spot. Now the Puddle of Mudd line up was complete.
"I'm
from Jacksonville, Florida, so I'd known Fred since the early days
when he'd worked with a band I was in. When Wes went out to LA, I got
the call, flew out there and we jammed for a while. We wrote Control
(the first single) on the second day we were together. We clicked
really quickly, which was cool, man." --
www.guitarist.co.uk
Although
Come Clean, Puddle of Mudd's debut album was not due to be released
until August 28, 2001, they hit the tour schedule several months
ahead. In May of 2001, they began the first leg of their tour in
Toronto, Canada. POM hit the major markets in the United States
touring that summer. In September, they went on the European leg of
their tour. Their touring partners during 2001 were
Godsmack, Staind,
Cold,
Adema, Fuel, Linkin Park, Sevendust, Saliva, Mesh and the
Deftones. Those first
shows were difficult, no one knew who they were, but as time went on
after the album was released, they noticed more of the crowd was
singing to their songs -
"Having
a show and the people sing lyrics back to you and give off energy back
to you that you are giving out and see it returned to you every night
and people being excited about your music." - T4
Touring
was difficult at first, money was always tight with a beginning band
and they weren’t afforded the luxury of a deluxe tour bus. During an
interview with MTV, he recalled the early days of touring with Puddle
of Mudd –
"We
started out on the little ghetto bus, which is a lot better than the
super ghetto van. We've all been in bands and done it all. Doug toured
for years in a van. I did the carpool thing where everybody takes
their little Honda Civic, loads it up, and follows each other. We've
paid our dues, but we got lucky with this band." – MTV
In
2002, POM continued pushing their new album. The tour started in
January in the UK and continued through parts of Europe. Tour stops
began in the US in early spring and ran through August. Then it was
back to Europe. They did some headlining dates as well as being
supporting band for some of Korn's 2002 dates. Paul supported the
pairing with Korn and looked at it as an opportunity to reach more
people. POM performed during the year with Trust Co., Revolution
Smile, 30 Seconds to Mars, and
Deadsy. While albums may be great,
nothing beats a live performance to keep you in touch with the fans.
"That's
the best part of the whole show for me when you walk out onto the
stage. Everyone has been waiting and cheering … when you hit that
first note and see the fans reaction, that's the best part for
me." - Topforty.co.za
Paul
has a perfectionist edge to his guitar playing. That persistence paid
off in 2002. Guitar One (February 2003 Issue) awarded Paul Phillips
and Puddle of Mudd partner Wes Scantlin "Best Guitar Riff
2002" for the song "Blurry". Paul commented on some of
Puddle of Mudd's success in an interview in 2002 –
"You
have like, you know the biggest song or whatever in America and you
nit pick and see what's wrong with it. And go next time - we got to do
something better you know, cause that's not good and that keeps that
driving force." – CNN
Not
one to have guitar idols, he was more influenced by riffs than by a
particular artist. In many interviews, Paul's views always remain the
same. The base is the guitar riff. No solos or fancy finger work, just
great riffs that can carry the song and bring all the pieces of the
puzzle together. Realizing that an idea for a great song can come from
anyone, he keeps an open mind and ear to what he hears –
"The
song can exist without the solo, but it can't exist without the
riff." "I'm more influenced by great songs. No matter who
wrote it, if the song is great, it influences me." -
Inverse-Music
In 2005, Paul departed from the band for personal and creative reasons. It was a good run for Paul, gaining experience, exposure, and in the end deciding Puddle of Mudd no longer represented what he wanted to do with music. When it stops being fun it is time to rethink your future, and he posted this message to fans on the Puddle of Mudd message board -
What's up everyone? Just thought that I should drop a note to let everyone know what is up. I, like Greg, have left Puddle of Mudd. I decided to leave about a month ago due to personal and creative differences. The truth is, I haven't been happy in Puddle for a long time. It came to a point where I couldn't be miserable and pretend that I was happy. My heart wasn't in it. I need time to find myself and try and remember why I got into music in the first place. I'd like to thank everyone who was cool to me over the years and supported the band. I only hope that I returned the favor. Take care. Later.
During
time off, word was circulating Paul was looking for a new band. In
walked Johnny Strong… and Paul has said, “He threw me a life
preserver.”
After
meeting Johnny and working on some new songs, it was evident the
creative process was alive and well within the duo.
SOURCES: www.puddleofmudd.com, www.pauljphillips.com, www.mtv.com , www.vh1.com,www.mtv.co.uk.com, www.inverse-music.com , www.guitarist.co.uk.com , www.topforty.co.za, www.washburn.com, www.mtv.co.uk, T4, MTV Europe, CNN, MTV2 Rock, Guitar One Magazine, Re:Covered.
POMuddRockOn 1/20/03. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this biography.